Behind the Work: Dromona’s Cheesy Success on TikTok
Ireland’s authentic cheese and butter brand, Dromona, created campaigns and adverts that spread across social media this year. Using TikTok to capture that all too familiar ‘cheese sizzle’, the campaign gained the attention of viewers and was pivotal to Ardmore’s initial strategy. The Northern Irish brand prides itself on Irish milk and local dairy products which are created with authenticity in mind. Their slogan, ‘Make Ours Yours’ is pivotal to their practices.
To talk through the hot lights melting butter on set, the custom kitchen they created and that all important ‘ooooooh’ reaction, Ardmore’s creative director Chris Powell spoke to LBB’s Nisna Mahtani.
LBB> Where did the initial idea for the campaign come from?
Chris> The ‘Make Ours Yours’ campaign was created to highlight the fresh and high-quality Northern Irish Dairy products that Dromona is famous for. We developed TV spots to show the slices of everyday life within our own homes - those everyday moments we experience when we enjoy, share and indulge in delicious food. The storyline and the food for both spots needed to be simple and straightforward. We weren’t aiming to show MasterChef levels of cooking here, just pure and simple, quality food that everyone enjoys and connects with.
LBB> Talk us through the shoot / production, what was it like?
Chris> Another shoot completed under full Covid-19 protocols handled expertly by Greenroom films – taking in the smell of melting cheese through a mask isn’t quite the same! We had a fantastic real home location to shoot in with a kitchen that was adapted completely to our needs, including a fake wooden island worktop, custom-made to give us the perfect background for our macro photography.
It was important for us to use real food throughout so we could capture genuine tasting moments from our actors. For our hero cheese toastie scene, there was a hushed atmosphere waiting for the melt out of the sandwich press. The first attempt was so impressive a collective ‘ooooooh’ was heard from the various monitors on set. We tried the shot a few more times but that first satisfying squeeze made the cut in the final edit.
LBB> Tell us about the aesthetics / grade of the piece and your aims.
Chris> The biggest element outside of the performances of our cast and the look of the food was the music and how that could really add to the scene and story. To help establish Dromona as the product of choice in the dairy aisle we knew that our spots needed to be memorable, to create a connection with our audience and make Dromona stick firmly front of mind. So, when our audience is shopping, there’s no competition for what’s going in their basket – it’s the one from the advert they’ve been humming all week. For this, we knew an original catchy tune was the only solution.
Our original song was specifically written and recorded by our director Michael J Ferns and his team to feel like an old track that you’ve heard before but can’t quite place. A real earworm that once heard sticks with you, makes you happy and gets deeper and deeper on subsequent listens. Lyrics which in any other context would be heard as a traditional love song but when coupled with our visuals becomes the love of food!
LBB> What were the trickiest components when creating this spot and how did you overcome them?
Chris> This would have to be the food – they say don’t work with children or animals, I would say don’t work with blocks of butter under huge lights but, if you do, then have plenty of stand-by blocks and an excellent food stylist.
